Diversity of bacteria in the rhizosphere of major horticultural crops in the tropical homesteads of Kerala

A study was conducted on bacterial diversity associated with the crops of homestead gardens of three diverse and important districts of Kerala with the prime objective of identifying the beneficial micro-organisms. In homesteads, Bacillus sp. was the most predominant among the bacterial isolates in all the soil samples collected. Actinomycetes diversity was less. Only Streptomyces griseus and S. albus were identified in the teak, banana, coconut, mangosteen, sapota, gummi gutta and betel vine of Ernakulam district, whereas, S. griseus was the only species of actinomycetes identified in coffee and banana in Wayanad district and coconut and arecanut in Palakkad district.